Trump - Hearthstone Streamer

In honor of the completion of Diablo month, I am continuing with another Blizzardy post. This is, admittedly, my most niche post to date. It also serves as a not so secret hint as to one of my biggest obsessions as of late, Hearthstone. Blizzard has done a stellar job making a game that is accessible and easy for new players to start. The tutorial and solo quests are a great way to get new players used to the mechanics and get a great set of cards that are very much used in competitive play today. The problem, as with all collectible card games, is that players are often intimidated and hit a wall when it comes to playing against other players.

I was in this stage when I found Trump's youtube channel. I had gotten comfortable with Hearthstone, but needed a way to get better. Trump one of the most popular streamers on Twitch, but has gone out of his way to archive the most educational Hearthstone videos on his youtube channel. Aside from just watching his videos and listening to his in depth explanations of his plays, Trump also has videos dedicated to teaching new players general tactics and strategies that will make them better players.

With three adventures and two expansions, Hearthstone has added some new mechanics and a great deal of cards to their game. Because of this, many people have criticized Blizzard for making entry into the game much harder, as new players won't have viable decks without dropping a bunch of money. Trump has recently challenged this argument by beginning a Free to play (F2P) series of videos, where he started a brand new anonymous account and played for an entire month to show just how far a player can get with a lot of skill and no money.

There are quite a few big names in Hearthstone, and a lot of players like Trump that literally make a living playing games all day. Trump remains my favourite, despite the fact that he is actually pretty boring and awkward guy. The video editing on his channel is a big part of this, as he (someone he hired) has all the boring waiting between turns cut out. On top of that, Trump is one of the most cool headed players, and goes out of his way to help new players.

Recently, Trump was knocked out of the world championships of Hearthstone. He was one of 8 qualifiers to represent North America but lost when it narrowed down to 4. I have never been much of a sports or esports guy, but I have fallen into the strange new experience of (e)sports fandom.